Soooo Sad to Say Goodbye!

What a perfect family vacation we had! All good things come to an end though... and the sunset always reminds me of goodbyes. Just like on our honeymoon ten years ago, we would rush across the street almost every night to catch the amazing sunset at 6:54 precisely. I just can't get enough of them, and I have a billion pictures to prove it. It always seems like I just can't capture the beauty of them in a picture though. I love the last picture that Jackson took of us. Too bad he isn't in it, I love candid shots of us having fun. We were waiting for the waves and picking helping Blaze jump through them.

 

Now that we are home (a month now!) we are longing to go back. About every other day, Blaze asks me with his cute little inquisitive two year old voice "Mommy, can we fly to Hewayi?" I LOVE how he say Hawaii! And I have to say "Not today. We are painting the basement.", followed by a sigh.

Lahina...

 At the heart of Lahina is the huge banyan tree. We were there on Memorial Day weekend, so they were having an art fair at this park that houses the tree. I was so tempted to buy something, but getting it home would be a mess! There are so many shops that I wanted to mozy through, but not with 4 kids (and James) in tow. We toured the old Court House and learned about how much Lahina has changed since the turn of the century when it was a whaling community.

 

On our way back to the car, we passed by a Bubba Gump Restaurant with this nice photo op in front. It's hard to believe that the movie Forrest Gump is ancient these days! 

Paul's 7th Birthday!!!

What a way to spend a birthday - in Hawaii, and on Memorial Day! Paul was really upset when he realized he would be having his birthday in Hawaii and I wouldn't be able to MAKE him a cake. Our kids spend months dreaming up the perfect homemade cake, and it's always fun to see what they come up with. So, I promised Paul that we could go to Costco in Maui, and he would be able to pick out a store bought cake he wanted. Unfortunately, I didn't think about Costco being closed on Memorial Day. We had to settle for the local grocery store bakery where Paul mulled over his choices for over 30 minutes! He settled on not one, but two cakes: a pink (his current favorite color) American flag glittery cake, and a "Sundae" cake with whipped cream and cherries. He was entirely delighted with them both, and it turned out to be one of his best birthday's ever (not because he was in Maui playing at the beach all day) because he got two cakes :)

 

The first half of the day was spent at Big Beach, where Paul snorkeled in the ocean for the first time, and he and Jackson attempted to skim board with their boogie boards. Much like his namesake, our Paul is the spice of our family. There is never a dull moment with Paul around, whether he be telling jokes, causing a raucous, etc. He's such a clever little guy, and we are anxious to see what he does with all of that energy!

Making Leis...

The condo grounds were amazingly beautiful. They were covered in beautiful flowers and foliage, much of which I've only seen in Hawaii. The ground was covered in flowers that had fallen from the trees, and my kids loved to collect them. We decided to make our own leis from them, and all except Blaze could actually string them with needle and thread. The sad part was they only lasted for a day. They wanted to make some to take home for friends :)

The Pool...

We have SO many pictures of the kids playing in the pool that Alanna took. It was one of the their favorite spots, for obvious reasons. The boys practiced snorkeling there, and the adults were very entertained watching them. The boys had private swimming lessons last summer, and they really had a chance to improve their skills in this pool. They are just little fish! Alanna discovered the freedom of a life jacket, and she she "swam" many laps around the pool also. Blaze was content to play on the steps or be carried by mom or dad, but maybe next summer he'll be ready to venture off on his own. It was nice to see our kids getting creative and having some "old school" fun in the pool without and fancy electronics or toys. They played for hours and hours and then we'd have to drag them out (quite literally!) to move on to the next activity. 

Iao Needle...

It is pretty amazing to know that Maui warriors from long ago used to climb up this mountain to the very top to keep a look out for King Kamehameha. I guess they just grabbed on to the foliage and hoped they didn't fall to their death! This area is so lush and beautiful and feels very humid and tropical. We also stopped at some gardens that are dedicated to Maui's cultural "melting pot". I didn't know that Cubans, Russians, Filipino's, Puerto Ricans, Koreans, etc. etc. have come to settle in Hawaii during the 20 century due to natural disaster or political upheaval in those countries. There were gardens with plaques dedicated to each of these countries, and it was explained that everyone just melted together despite language and cultural barriers. If only the world could follow that example!

Ululani's Shave Ice!

You won't believe me when I say that this is THE BEST shaved ice ever. You probably think there can't be much of a difference between these mounds of snow and what your local snow cone stand sells. You just wouldn't ever believe it until you've tasted it. And as far as I know, it's only in Maui!

The vacation log in our condo has entries from several people raving about Ululani's, and it being dessert, I had to try it. I searched online to see if I could find out why this Hawaiian shave ice is THE BEST, and there were hundreds of testimonials from tourists around the world proclaiming their love for it. Many have searched far and wide for something that comes close, but it is yet to be discovered. The ice is shaved finer and fluffier than snow, the syrups are boiled down from real fruit like mango and papaya, and they use pure cane sugar. A scoop of coconut, macadamia nut, or vanilla ice cream is at the bottom marinating in all of the fruit flavor syrups. It's just amazing, especially when you eat it on a 90 degree day in front of a beautiful beach! If the machine they use wasn't $2500, I'd seriously consider getting one for our home. James has talked about opening our own shave ice stand. Yeah right!

 

We can't bring ourselves to call it "shave ice", like in Hawaii, but we are all HUGE fans of this stuff. If you are in Maui, eat and eat and eat it! I haven't been in so much love with a dessert since I pigged out on gelato in Italy 13 years ago. And just like I can't find the same gelato here, I'm very doubtful that we will find anything on the main land that compares to Ululani's excellent creations. It's all part of the magic of Maui :)

The Sand...

So...you get the pictures! We LOVE the sand!